Book of Dreams
by fragonknight01
Summary: Harry has just returned to Hogwarts for his 7th year and has already managed to bond with Draco, create an opening to an alternate reality, and now must go on a quest to save his original universe from not one, but two bad guys.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

Notes: This story will appear to be disjointed if you do not follow the story chapter by chapter because it actually covers two universes. For clarification purposes the story begins in the regular HP Universe. After that the story jumps back and forth between the two until the two universes realign and blend back into one.

**_Book of Dreams _**

**Prologue:**

September 1st is one of those dates that means the same thing in all the Harry Potter universes. September 1st is when all the magical children who are fortunate enough, or talented enough, meet at platform 9 and ¾ at the London train station to catch the Hogwarts Express and proceed on to school where they will learn to be good little wizards and witches…if we are lucky. The journey to upper Scotland takes about eight hours and the children arrive at the castle tired, hungry, scared and quite often, completely out of sorts.

Such was the case for Seventh Year Harry Potter. One would have thought that he would have more stamina, being a Seventh Year and all, but he was a small, frail looking lad who often suffered the effects of starvation as a young child and even now spent three months of the year at the residence of his relatives who continued their abuse and neglect with nary a thought in their abysmal heads.

And so it was that Harry managed to come back to Hogwarts and take up his life as a wizard. He had turned seventeen over the summer so he would not be going back to that place ever again… It was now his time to become who and what he had always wanted since he found out that he was a wizard.

He had to defeat Voldemort soon, but other than that, he pretty much had a clean slate from which to start life. He had a nice boyfriend who was witty, handsome, charming, and rich. He had great friends whom he loved more dearly than most did their families. And, he, himself, was a rich, talented, and extremely personable young man…

Harry had hair black as the feathers of a crow that glinted in the sun and often flickered like emerald green flames…the exact color of his almond shaped eyes. Harry had lightly tanned skin with a sprinkle of freckles across his small upturned nose, a red-tinted kissable mouth, perfect white teeth, and finally the feature that distinguished Harry to the point of almost defining him to most people was the lightning bolt shaped scar that graced his brow just above his right eyebrow.

However, Harry was oblivious to his delicious unique looks, he dwelt more on the practical aspects of existence. Issues like 'what was he going to do once Voldemort was defeated?' was of all-consuming interest most of the time. Harry was under few illusions of what his life was going to be like until he actually defeated Voldemort. However, he wanted very badly to get that done. And, so when the others went up to bed after the feast to prepare for sleep, Harry took himself off to the library. After showing his pass to the unrestricted section to Madame Pince, he settled in for a few hours study with a promising looking book…

**Chapter 1: 101 Spells to Create an Alternate Universe**

Instead of paying attention to what he was doing, Harry idly twiddled his wand and mumbled his way through a spell he thought belonged to the family of reverse images. Later he might blame it on the fact that he was also distracted by the thought of why Madame Pince never ate breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the Great Hall with the rest of the faculty and students. 'Why was she always in the library? Why was the library always open?' And so the spell was cast and Madame Pince could be blamed for all the alternate universe angst that she unwittingly unleashed by being so dedicated to duty.

The fog that rose out of the book and engulfed Harry didn't make him gag or cough. It just surrounded him and sucked him back into the book. It was, in fact, a soul splitting spell and Harry's Slytherin side got pulled into the book. The rest of the oblivious, but peacefully sleeping Harry sat in a reading chair, the book tumbled to the floor beside him while his wand still hung loosely from curled fingers.

Draco went looking for Harry after his owl came back from Gryffindor tower, letter unopened. The owl had let Hermione scribble a small note on the outside of the envelope stating that he had gone to the library. He found Harry in their usual spot, still sleeping. He was getting ready to shake him awake when he took a second look at his boyfriend and noticed that there was an Egyptian Temple Asp poised and ready to strike the moment he touched the sleeping wizard.

He drew back and shrieked.

Harry jerked awake at the sound of Draco screaming. Draco never screamed unless there was something wrong, or if his hair wouldn't lie properly, or his clothes didn't look quite right, or… Suffice to say, Harry did not get excited about the shriek. "Hey, Draco." He managed in a soft sleepy voice.

Draco was still trying to catch his breath. "There's a a a ,bbbbiiiiggg sssssnnnnaake on you." He finally gasped out.

Harry looked down at the snake that was sitting there weaving back and forth in front of his face. "Hello." He hissed at the beautiful magical creature. "What is your name? And, why are you here?"

"My name is Ve-ella and I have been sent to guard you. The temple priests will be here soon to talk to you. You have created a portal to an anomaly that has needed to be fixed for a long time. With our help you will succeed."

Harry petted the snake between the eyes and watched as it blinked its jewel bright eyes while hissing softly. "Do you know what I have done?"

"No. I am only here to guard you because you are now the Pure One. You will need to be taken away from here before the bad spirit who haunts your dreams can touch you. He will bring great death and destruction to the whole world if he were to destroy you now."

Draco cut in as he watched Harry pale even further. "Harry, what is it saying to you?"

Large clear emerald green eyes focused on the blond. "She says she has been sent to protect me until the temple priests come for me. If Voldemort finds me in this form and kills me, the world will fall to darkness."

Draco moaned softly, a sound of real anxiety. "Harry, you're scaring the crap out of me." He pleaded finally, "Can I sit with you? I need to be with you."

The snake looked at the blond for a few seconds then slid to the floor. It slithered around Draco, eyeing him from several angles, including under his robes, before it returned to Harry's feet and coiled up. Just as Draco was beginning to breathe normally again, it lowered it's mouth and spat out a young hatchling.

Both boys watched in fascination as the older snake gave the hatchling instructions to go to the Pure One's mate and guard him until they should meet again in the afterlife. The little snake glided over to Draco and tapped its head on his slipper.

Draco looked at Harry wide-eyed and waited for him to translate the proceedings.

The other had a silly smile on his face as he answered Draco's unspoken question. "You have just been gifted with a guardian familiar. His name is Siillsssch. The name means 'silk' in parseltongue."

"Is that all she said? You have that 'just been fucked through the mattress' look on your face and since there is only two things that can put it there, I want to know what that snake said."

The smaller male stood up and went to his lover. "She said," kiss, "that you and I" kiss, "are Mates for life and Silk is to be your guardian until the next life." Harry placed another kiss on Draco's down-turned face and finished by whispering, "You need to pick him up and bring him up to your face so that he can scent you properly."

The blond bent down and rested one knee on the floor. His hands shook slightly as he held them out and let the hatchling come to him. He picked the snake up and raised it to his face as Harry had instructed. Then stood there with huge tears rolling down his face as the snake darted forward and bit his bottom lip.

Harry looked from the hatchling to his new familiar. "Why did your son bite my mate?"

"How else is he to acquire parseltongue?" The snake queried.

Harry blinked at the snake then turned back to Draco, who seemed to be sweating drops of blood. "Ve-Ella says that Silk bit you so that you can learn parseltongue."

Draco choked on his tears and whimpered, "Are there any other surprises tonight?"

Harry spoke to the large snake for quite awhile before turning back to Draco. "Ve-Ella says that you have to open your mouth after the blood stops dripping and then Silk will spit what appears to be venom on your tongue. It isn't venom, but it is necessary in order for your tongue to force the syllables properly."

Draco blinked at Harry. "That's disgusting!" He made a face and stuck his tongue out slightly; when he did the little snake spat on it.

He felt his mind spinning out into the universe and then contract back into his body. There were changes; his perception had been altered and he looked at the world differently. Draco Malfoy became the first Snake-made parseltongue since Salazar Slytherin…and it felt good!

The two boys tucked their pets into their robes and headed down the corridor to the main set of stairs. They needed to talk to Dumbledore about everything that had happened so far.


	2. Can't touch the moonlight

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

Notes: This story will appear to be disjointed if you do not follow the story chapter by chapter because it actually covers two universes. For clarification purposes the story begins in the regular HP Universe. After that the story jumps back and forth between the two until the two universes realign and blend back into one.

**_Book of Dreams _**

**Chapter 2: Can't touch the moonlight. (HP Universe)**

Harry and Draco agreed even before they got to the office that they would not tell Dumbledore that Draco was now a parseltongue. The old man kept too many secrets that other people needed to know. And they were quite certain that if he imparted only a portion of his knowledge that neither they nor their year-mates would have to work so hard in order to defeat Voldemort.

They weren't all that positive that Dumbledore wouldn't know what happened in the library, but Harry had long ago conned one of the previous librarian's portrait into helping him. It turned out that Cedalia Marchbanks had a great grand daughter named Myrtle, whom Tom Riddle had managed to murder through foul means. Cedalia often discussed with Harry the goings on of the castle while she helped plot Tom's demise.

The Headmaster's office was always a great place to visit. At least Harry thought so. He loved holding long conversations with the sorting hat and Fawkes, usually at the same time. Tonight, though, they wanted to find Dumbledore in his office and available for consultation.

Dumbledore was in and immediately offered them tea and biscuits. Both boys accepted his offerings, but were careful to take their veriteserum antidote before imbibing. They trusted Dumbledore with their lives, however, they both felt that it was safer for them to give him the information they wanted him to have rather than what he wanted to know…

The boys settled down together in a rather larger than average purple paisley print poof chair. Harry giggled as he squirmed around so that his rear pressed against Draco's crotch then gave the other boy a beatific smile. "I love this poof chair. It is so comfortable."

Draco's left eye twitched as Harry's arse pressed against his awakening arousal. "You had best not tease me any more than this. I haven't even wanked since you…" his face was slightly pink as he muttered, "did that thing with your mouth on the train at the beginning of summer." The blond's voice was a soft whisper against Harry's ear but both boys were under no illusion that Dumbledore had missed the exchange.

They were correct of course. The proof of his eavesdropping had his face turning more than slightly red under all that beard. "Well, then boys, what brings you here this evening?" He quickly asked.

Harry heaved a sigh and started talking. "I suppose this whole mess is my fault." Then he smiled impishly before adding, "Or maybe it is Mrs. Pince's fault. You see, I decided to continue with studying some of the books that you referenced for me earlier this summer. I went to the library and was reading, but I was also wondering why Mrs. Pince is always in the library and why it is always open every day, all day long, and why does she never get to eat in the Great Hall, and well, I sort of lost my concentration." Here he stopped and drew a deep breath.

Draco giggled and said, "I wondered when you were going to breathe!"

Harry paid him back by sitting up slightly and putting a firmer pressure on Draco's crotch. He turned back to Dumbledore and resumed speaking as he felt the other boy shudder then press his hips upward. "So anyway, I was reading a spell and I had my wand in my hand and I must have accidentally performed the correct wand movement because the next thing I knew was Draco screaming like a bloody girl because I was asleep and had this snake on my lap."

Dumbledore cocked his head to the side and observed the magical reptile. "Ah, an Egyptian Temple Asp. Why, exactly, has she come to visit with you?"

Harry blinked. "She is supposed to be my guardian until the temple guards get here. She says that I created a portal to another universe and that I need to go there and straighten out an anomaly that has been causing problems for several years now."

Draco sighed softly against his lover's neck as he found the pocket of Harry's robe and slid his hand inside it. He whimpered slightly as his fingers sought the loose waistband of Harry's pants and delicately traced patterns on the fluttering stomach muscles. Harry had never engendered this lust in him before and he was unable to control himself…

Dumbledore watched Draco quietly losing control and felt a surge of horror. The young Malfoy almost seemed to be having some type of negative physical reaction to some sort of stimuli from Harry. He could practically see the chemical changes in the boy's body. For all the posturing and simpering about blood that the Malfoy family did, there had been a few pretty strange creatures making an appearance throughout the hundred and fifty odd years he had been associated with the clan.

Then it dawned on him. Malfoys always transformed into their proper creature forms just before bonding with their chosen. This Malfoy had bred true to his snow wraith heritage and was enthralled to both the new moon and his mate's presence.

He had risen from his chair and made his way to the fireplace to make a firecall to Lucius when the flames burst an electric blue and several men who appeared to be models for a muscle magazine came through.

The man in front called his troops to attention then turned and bowed gracefully to Dumbledore. "We beg your patience, old man. We have come to protect the Pure One from harm while part of his soul is separated from him."

The leader of the expedition assessed the man in one glance and knew that he would have a job of it staying even half a step ahead of the old man's schemes. "With your permission we will assume our duties." It was a rhetorical question that required no answer; the soldiers would do what they came for regardless of Albus's answer.

As he spoke, the other six soldiers catalogued the room and noticed the two boys who were now entwined on the chair, oblivious to the rest of the world as they kissed each other with a passion better reserved for the bridal bed.

One of the soldiers clearing his throat had the others in the room focusing on him. He pointed toward the tangle of robes and bits of hair that Harry and Draco had become.

Dumbledore shook his head in amusement. "I would like to say that that is abnormal behavior, but alas!" He gave the guards a wicked grin before explaining further, "I have had the dubious honor of watching Malfoy men pick their mates for well over a hundred and thirty years and young Draco seems to be moving right along with the bonding rituals observed in that family."

The Captain arched an eyebrow in question.

Dumbledore just twinkled madly and conjured up several more tea cups, more scones, and a few cushions since some of the guards seemed inclined to take their leisure on the floor. When they were all seated comfortably he began interrogating them.

"Are you gentlemen allowed to disclose any of your knowledge of the situation?" He asked.

The Captain seemed to be the only one inclined to speak. "We can give you a basic overview of the problem. We do ask however that you keep as much of information to yourself as you can. We know that you will need to explain to both Mr. Potter's father and to Mr. Malfoy's father what is going to be happening."

Albus gave him a rather surprised look before interrupting, "I was of the opinion that Mr. Potter's father had been killed some sixteen years ago."

The Captain thought for a few seconds then turned to the big sexy beast sitting slightly behind him. "Historian, what are the accurate facts of this case as opposed to the general assumptions?"

The Historian scrunched up his nose as he closed glowing golden eyes and thought for a few minutes before speaking. "In this universe Harry Potter is assumed to be the son of James Potter and Lily Evans Potter. The two assumed parentals gave their protection and later their lives to keep the boy alive. Potter Sr. is the actual mother of the Pure One and the father is Severus Snape, Potions Master here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The assumed mother, Lily Evans is the half sister of the genuine father."

The Captain listened to his explanation and asked for clarification. "Why did no one notice that Lily Evans Potter was not the mother?"

Historian made a few more funny faces as he cocked his head from one side to the other a few times. "Green eyes is a usual genetic trait of the Snape family and she had the green eyes. Since Severus does not have the Snape eyes, but has the Torentelli black eyes of his Italian mother, no one noticed. The pregnancy itself was covered by a few glamours. Mr. Potter did not have any problems with the pregnancy or childbirth. He did not gain a significant amount of weight- records indicate less than a stone. Mrs. Potter helped the deception by wearing baggy clothes and attaching a muggle device for simulating pregnancy as the time for delivery drew near."

Dumbledore looked at the Historian. "Why did they practice deception? Male pregnancy is acceptable in the Wizarding world. Surely Severus and James would not have faced too much opposition since Harry would be the heir to both houses?"

Historian opened his hawk eyes and looked at the old dude. "The prophesy which the fake seer delivered to you had already been made by the half-sister. It would not have done for Voldemort to know that the true parents had already defied him thrice."

Their discussion was interrupted by the blinding explosion of white light that lit up the office and attempted to fry the retinas of every eye in the room. As soon as the light died down, Albus leaned forward and said, "Well, that was a surprise wasn't it? After being an observer at seven other Malfoy bondings I should have remembered that would happen." He shook his head as if to clear it before reaching for a scroll. "If you gentlemen would be so kind as to sign here as witnesses to their successful mating, we can send this along to Malfoy Manor for the current Lord Malfoy and his wife to archive. This might just be the deciding factor in the war that we have been waiting for."

Strategist leaned forward before anyone could sign the parchment and said, "About this war?"

Albus smiled as he refilled his tea cup then passed the pot to a clone of the prior gorgeous beast. "I should like to hear everything you care to tell me on the subject."

Strategist looked at Captain before starting his speech. "Well, as you know tonight is new moon. The spell that Pure One cast is a time sensitive spell. With our help he has 29 and ½ days to accomplish the task of re-assimilating not only himself but the creature known in this world as Voldemort.

"What happens if the task does not get done?" Harry's voice carried softly from the depths of the chair which was soon to be banished from Dumbledore's office.

Historian sighed before answering, "Let's leave that as a worst case scenario and begin work on a more positive aspect of what we theorize will happen if you succeed."


	3. These dreams in the Mist

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

Notes: This story will appear to be disjointed if you do not follow the story chapter by chapter because it actually covers two universes. For clarification purposes the story begins in the regular HP Universe. After that the story jumps back and forth between the two until the two universes realign and blend back into one.

**_Book of Dreams _**

**Chapter 3: These dreams in the mist (Parallel Universe)**

**In which we meet the alternate universe...**

Bells ringing out echoed across the hills of Scotland on clear days so that one could hear them several miles away. The bells ringing on the first day of September like this meant that there was a new band of candidates to present to the High Priest Voldemort. It would be a large gathering of the finest lads and lasses from all over the British Isles. As always, Voldemort would accept all the children presented and do his best to sort them out. He was a wonderful man; brilliant, charming, handsome, and the epitome of kindness itself.

The last sixteen years had been very prosperous for the monastery school since Voldemort had assumed duties as Headmaster. He never turned a student away. Some were much more gifted than others, as was obvious by how they were sorted by house, overall though there was an air of peace and prosperity over the magical world.

Voldemort, or Tom as he preferred to be called, leaned his aching head on his arm and waited for the headache to subside. He knew that it would not leave completely, but over the last few years he had developed a few techniques to minimize the pain. He knew for a fact that if he just killed the source of most of his stress, life would become much more pleasant and pain free. The only problem was he could not 'neutralize' Harry Potter without causing substantial damage to the Wizarding world. He would have to see about banishing the boy to a different realm…

Harry Potter was an evil little git; had been ever since he showed up at Hogwarts some six years ago. The infuriating boy got into more trouble than a blast-ended skrewt and Voldemort wondered at times why he even allowed the boy to return to the school year after year. The insolent brat had done nothing but cause trouble since the day he walked through the doors and the older man had finally reached his wits end with him.

The only problem was that Tom really couldn't do anything with the boy. True, Harry was seventeen, but he was entitled to finish his last year of schooling at Hogwarts as were all the children who started Hogwarts and had not completed their NEWTS yet. The man let a few tears of frustration slip from his eyes as he considered the fact that if Harry hadn't developed an evil streak from having been left with his nasty relatives…well, the boy would have been perfect.

Harry was just under six feet tall, lithe and fit from playing Quidditch. His looks were second to none in the school also. The boy had messy black hair, emerald green eyes, and flawless porcelain skin that never seemed to tan regardless of how much time he spent outside. Along with being physical perfection, the boy was a genius. His intellectual capacity was well above that of half his professors already, he could sing and dance; and, according to the girls, he was a gentleman unparallel.

Tom had a different picture of the black haired heathen though. Harry's latest stunt went beyond the pale!

_It had been just before final exams at the end of Sixth year for Potter and he had been paying attention in Potions Class just like he always did when he got the bright idea to add a unicorn hair dissolved in a manticore tear to Draco Malfoy's pain relief potion. When the potions were done and Professor Snape had asked them to test their potions, Draco thinking that his potion was perfect, took the teaspoon of potion as requested. _

_When he opened his eyes he looked straight at Harry Potter and the altered potion kicked in. All of their sixth- year classmates had ran from the room screaming when Draco had pounced Harry and shoved him to the floor. The blond boy had ravaged Potter within a matter of only a few minutes and managed to forcefully mate with the black haired rebel. _

_Now a new school year had just begun and Tom had discovered the problem immediately._

Tom groaned as he worried about how he was going to tell the morally upstanding Malfoy Patriarch that his only son and heir had, under the influence of a potion, bonded with and became impregnated with the child of the current hooligan of Hogwarts.

There was the fact that the Potter family was an old an honorable family in the Wizarding world, but Harry was just getting to be too much trouble. How he managed to cause so much trouble was beyond the Headmaster. Tom knew without a doubt that Harry was the reason Draco's potion had reacted so abysmally.

Of course there was also the fact that Severus Snape, Potions Master, had identified the added ingredients in Draco's potion. He would not, however, tell Tom who did it or why. That part of the puzzle really wasn't necessary to explain- everyone knew Harry did it. Why was a big question and no answers seemed to be forthcoming.

Harry seemed quite pleased with his new consort though. Funny enough, he was treating the blond boy like a piece of fine porcelain. The couple really seemed to want to be together- it was a potions induced bonding on Draco's part. but he seemed quite pleased with the results now that the potion had presumably worn off and he was back to free will and thinking for himself. Harry could often be seen giving the blond gentle touches, soft kisses, and even sneaking him tidbits of sweets known to help with male pregnancies…

All things considered, had any of the people surrounding Harry and Draco stopped to consider what was really happening, they would have realized that Harry was becoming a responsible, caring person. Unfortunately, the only one to actually look closely at the Harry/Draco situation was Professor Snape and that was because he had a vested interest in the boys.

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><p>Snape did not want to tell anyone that Harry was his son because he wanted to keep the boy safe. He had hated the fact that he had so little time with his son. There were so many things he hated about not being able to openly claim Harry as his, but the boy knew and understood that if the true facts of his parentage ever got out, he would probably be killed.<p>

Harry had been the result of an experiment of the old Hogwarts Headmaster going awry. The old man had been a Dark Lord, almost the antithesis of Tom, and he had tried several times to increase the fertility of some of the older families in order to produce children. Harry had been one of the few success stories. Severus and James had desperately wanted children and old Albus Dumbledore had helped them brew the potion, cast the spell, and had even been there to help them deliver Harry safely.

The problems with Harry had not been noticeable with his birth, but over the course of the fifteen months that Severus and James had lived together secretly, it became obvious that Harry had incredible magical potential. The potential had become so apparent that Dumbledore eventually came to the house to kill the infant who would become a threat to him if left with his parents.

Severus had been away at the time of Dumbledore's visit and arrived home later that week to find the magical world in an uproar. Dumbledore had killed both James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter while attempting to steal the Potter heir.

Severus, with both his husband and his half-sister dead and the baby missing, did not know what else to do so he went to Hogwarts intending to discuss issues with the new Headmaster. He almost broke down and cried in relief when Voldemort told him that the boy had survived and had been sent to his mother's sister to be cared for.

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><p>So the problem was that although Tom knew Harry had claimed Draco by foul means, he couldn't do anything about it because Professor Snape refused to testify that Harry was the one who actually put the item in Draco's cauldron. The situation was then further exacerbated when Draco announced that he was perfectly happy with the situation and that he had been interested in 'HIS MATE' even before the potions accident.<p>

A firecall later and the old man was sitting in his chair crying great tears of relief. The Malfoy family accepted Draco's choice of mate since Harry was the heir of an old pureblood family of immense wealth and social prestige. The betrothal contracts which were being negotiated between the Malfoy and Weasley families had been terminated. Lucius Malfoy had then sent a large gift of gold and jewels to the Weasley family with his sincere apologies, but was adamant that the law was clear on magical children finding their soul-mates; it had been an accident of fate but Draco was now bonded to his proper soul-mate. The mating would stand as their private bonding and the two boys would be married according to Wizarding Civil Law at the next full moon.

The Weasley family had been heartbroken for all of five minutes that their only daughter, Ginerva, would not wed the Malfoy heir. Mr. Weasley was soon seated while counting galleons, sorting d jewels, and announcing to the inhabitants of the house that they now had enough money to refurbish the house, purchase all new school supplies for both the remaining students at school, and even set enough aside to provide Ginerva with a more than substantial dowry for when she accepted a young wizard's hand in marriage.

Over the next few days most people got used to seeing the young couple in the others company. There were even several students from all four houses who wished the couple well with their wedding and impending fatherhood. Girls were often seen giggling and hanging about with the silver-eyed blond, inquiring about the miracle of birth, makeup, and classes.

Harry and Draco should have worried about the fact that Hermione Granger, an old friend of Harry's, and Ronald Weasley, Ginerva's brother started hanging around with them. They were too happy with each other to worry much about revenge though…

That was right up until the day when Harry returned to his Head Boy rooms and found his lover dead, blood soaked robes ripped open to reveal that their baby had also been murdered…

The pain and rage ripped all thoughts of humanity from the grieving black haired boy. Even as he stood there screaming his agony to the world, aurors entered the room and apprehended him for the murder of his spouse and child. Harry was removed from Hogwarts and sent to the holding cells deep in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic to await trial.

Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were formidable men to cross and the trial which would normally have taken upwards to a year was brought before the court in a matter of hours. Snape had revealed to Lucius his part in getting the boys together in hopes of saving his son from turning to the Dark.

Magical law enforcement was unable to hold Harry Potter. He stood up in the court room and screamed his anger to the world. "I will wreck my revenge on those who took Draco and my son from me!" Eyes blazing green as the unforgivable killing curse that spelled from his pointing fingers, he swore, "I will kill the mudblood and the weasel last; after I have taken from them everyone whom they hold dear."

When the crowd gathered had recovered their wits from the shock of seeing Potter apparate away from the building, they turned to see who was sobbing brokenheartedly in the spectator section. Ron Weasley was holding the lifeless body of his father in his arms and sobbing, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm so sorry. But, we had to punish him for ruining Ginny's life!"


	4. Put me out on the old king's road

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: Just so you know... I finished work today and came home early with the idea that I would have a five day weekened so I signed into my yahoo account and was incredibly excited because I thought "Yeah! I have a review!" instead it was my employer telling me I have another job for tomorrow. *sobs piteously because there goes my five day weekend* But, if I really work I might make it a four day... too bad I be getting too old to enjoy anything except sleeping in!

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Put me out on the old King's Road<strong>… (Parallel Universe)

Snape and Malfoy both broke down in tears as they watched their last hopes fade. Harry had let both men stand with him, even hold his hands as the charges against him were read out and the veritiserum was administered so that a fair trial would be guaranteed.

Tom, in an attempt to get Harry removed from Hogwarts, had the court question Harry for over an hour on every detail of his life from the time he first recollected being at the Dursleys until he had found Draco and the baby dead in his rooms. As the examiner drew out all the details of Harry's life, the old man sank down in his seat, pale and sick of heart over what had been done to the boy to make him so delinquent, but he was unable to stop the proceedings once the examiner began. By the time the examiner was finished Harry had no privacy left.

Everyone knew that Harry was a genetically engineered freak, a homosexual, and that Professor Snape protected him because Harry was his son. They heard all the little details of how Harry plotted to ensnare Draco after he noticed him staring at him one day, an expression of longing so obvious that it had touched Harry deeply that someone would want him at all... How Harry had researched for days on his own before begging his father for help with attracting Draco.

When the veritiserum wore off, Harry had straightened up from his slumped position between the two men who meant the world to him and continued to answer the invasive questions that the court was throwing out in a cheap effort to reap some vicarious thrills while they could.

It wasn't until Madame Unbridge stood up and addressed the court by saying, "This boy is guilty and a threat to society by his own admission. I move that we give him the Dementors kiss then send him to Azkaban." That all hell broke loose.

Snape and Malfoy Sr. started screaming that Harry had not killed Draco and the baby and that was the only crime he was on trial for. He was to be found 'not guilty' and should be released.

The court decided to be cute and say that they needed to adjourn to discuss the evidence given by Potter before making a decision. It was at that point Harry extended his hand in anger and they all slammed back in their seats, incapable of sound or movement.

"Now hear me, you lot of two-faced morons. I did not kill my mate." He pointed to Hermione and Ron and said, "There are your murderers. Granger, who used to be my friend, helped Weasley plan the assassination of my family because she intended to be there to pick up the pieces and become Mrs. Harry Potter." His voice broke on a sob but he continued, "Weasley stabbed Draco in the stomach and killed our child first so that Draco would know the pain of losing a child. His excuse was that Ginerva had been used by the Malfoy family."

The Weasley family paled at the charges Harry levied on Ronald, but did not counter them. They sat there in silence while Harry explained that he was a natural legitimist and could read the minds of every person in the room.

While aurors walked through the rows of observers to where Hermione and Ron were, Harry finally turned to Umbridge and snarled, "You get off on all the power you have, don't you, you vile old hag? I can read the filthy thoughts running through your head…how you like to go over to Azkaban and sexually molest prisoners incapable of protecting themselves. You wanted to add me to your perfidious harem!" He shuddered in revulsion. "I will AK myself before I let fetid garbage like you touch me."

She stepped back in fear then froze as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her voice rasped through the courtroom like the last dying breaths of a man choking on his own blood, "**The book has been opened. The Pure one comes to reunite two halves of two wholes. Existence fades as the moon wanes."**

Most of the people in the courtroom sat in shock. Surely the Umbridge hag had not prophesized the end of the world. When the shock started to wear off, the babble became little more than a scream of rage and pain.

Tom finally called the room to order and said, "It appears that we have done a great wrong to young Mr. Potter, or Snape, whichever name he chooses to go by now since his secret is out. We need to start taking steps to make restitution to him and his remaining family on behalf of the Wizarding world."

He turned to Harry and asked, "What do you think is reasonable restitution, Harry?" The about-face from his old headmaster who had just betrayed him to the world was too much.

Harry shook with anger as he stared at the kindly old man who was no longer infallible in his eyes. "I want an eye for an eye. He," he jabbed his hand up to where Ron was, "just casually destroyed my whole world without any shame. Draco never touched that simpering red-headed bitch so she suffered no damage physically. At my behest, Lucius made a gift of over a million galleons in coinage and jewels to the family so there was no financial damage. And I am repaid with the death of the only thing in this world capable of keeping me human."

Before Harry was finished speaking, Ron and Hermione both stood up and started screaming obscenities at him. Their venom only served to fuel his rage. He lost control and raised his hand in anger. He apparated away after murdering Arthur Weasley.

Lucius helped Severus to stand and make his way out of the courtroom. The blond looked at his childhood friend and stated, "That was exactly what we were trying to prevent, wasn't it?"

The tall, thin Potions Master looked old and frail instead of being a vibrant thirty-something. He hung his head in sorrow. "They took my son away from me again." Tears rolled down his face as his shoulders shook with grief. "Those bastards as good as killed both our children."

Lucius looked off into the distance as Sev vented, then a few seconds later, when he was calm again, they apparated to Malfoy Manor to tell Narcissa the news. There was no other way to tell it: their Wizarding world was finished. It was only a matter of time before the new Dark Lord destroyed the lot of them.


	5. Alice went to Wonderland but I stayed

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: And the rest of the story... So I had to work Wednesday. But, I still got a four day weekend even if I did not get any reviews. And, I got to sleep in this morning...

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Alice went to wonderland but I … (Hogwarts universe)<strong>

**Harry and Draco**… the announcement next morning at breakfast caught most of the students by surprise. The students had no sooner begun to settle down after that announcement when they got the supreme shock of most of their itty-bitty insignificant lives: the doors to the Great Hall flew open and Lucius Malfoy and his Duchess appeared, followed by several of the old pure blood families.

Draco was sitting with Harry at the Gryffindor table when his parents made their entrance. Both boys stood as soon as they saw the newcomers headed toward them instead of the High Table where Albus Dumbledore was sitting.

Draco stepped forward, confusion clear on his face. "Father, Mother, what brings you here? You honor me with your presence." He bowed to his parents.

Lucius merely drew back and nodded to him. After Draco stepped back to stand with one arm draped around Harry's waist, Lucius turned to face the Head Table and spoke, "I have brought with me, the lesser lords who swear fealty to our Dukedom. We would at this time like to reaffirm our allegiance to the new couple as family and kin."

Albus took his cue and stood up to face the contingent of Wizards and their mates. "Please step forward, Lord Malfoy and friends." His old eyes twinkled almost as wildly as a lit Catherine Wheel. "As we are all gathered here, I should like to make one further announcement before Lord Malfoy swears his loyalty to the new couple."

The old man turned to Severus Snape and said, "Please come forward, Severus. I would like to introduce your family at this time."

Snape swept forward. "My family? What do you know of my family?"

His eyes never once darted to Harry, but Harry felt his father's presence brush up against his mind. The boy decided that he rather liked the Professor in 'father mode'.

Albus beamed happily at the gathered assemblage. "Late last night, several gentlemen paid our school a visit. They gave us much new information which will be helpful in the war which we are currently embroiled in. The most important piece of information they shared with us is that Professor Snape is Mr. Potter's biological father."

Before the room could get out of hand with their speculations, Albus raised his voice, "Quiet! Let me finish. Severus had kept this fact secret for several years in order to keep his son safe from harm. Now that Harry is of age and legally wed, Professor Snape wishes it to be known that Harry comes to the House of Malfoy as a pureblood and the Heir to both the Snape and Potter fortunes since James Potter was Harry's mother."

Harry stepped forward and was engulfed in a hug by his professor. Everyone witnessing the moment could swear that they saw Snape wipe tears from his eyes as he stepped back from his child. Harry grinned up at him and whispered, "Don't think that you won't be needed. You are going to be a grandfather sometime in the next nine months."

Severus grabbed his son and hugged him again.

This time Draco had to come forward and gently removed the older man's arms from around Harry. "It is time, Harry. The Receiving Line has formed and they await our pleasure."

Harry's eyes flickered to the rather long line of magical folks standing patiently waiting to be recognized by the Malfoy Family. "What do I do?" He whispered in parseltongue.

Draco hissed back, "As part of the ceremony of these families swearing their allegiance to you and I they have been promised that you would remove their dark marks if it is at all possible."

Harry inclined his head. "Easy enough unless I start having power fluctuations."

Narcissa giggled while whispering, "That won't be for another three months."

"OK. Let's get started then. You all lead off and I will join in when you tell me to."

Lucius smirked. "Good spouse you picked there, Son!"

Draco just glared at his father before giving his undivided attention to Harry once again, "Are you ready to remove the dark mark from all these people so that they can assist us in our quest?"

Harry smiled sweetly then staggered slightly as he had an attack of dizziness.

Draco grabbed him and glared at everyone as he waited for Harry to regain his equilibrium. After a slight squeeze to let Draco know he was ready once again, Harry straightened up and moved into line beside him.

Lucius moved so that he was standing directly in front of the Headmaster's chair. He cast a sonorous on his voice and began to speak.

"Last night, I was informed that several men came to Hogwarts." He waved his hand to indicate the gorgeous men who were standing…well, yeah, they were standing, but one of them was posing and flexing while winking at a most definitely flustered but appreciative Pansy Parkinson.

Lucius turned around when he heard several giggles from the Slytherin table. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Strategist flirting with the little blond witch. He shook his head when Draco snorted and turned back to the audience. "As I was saying, Mr. Parkinson," He couldn't restrain the happy smile that flittered across his face, "The man there posing for your daughter is the Temple Strategist and comes highly recommended as a son-in-law. He has several beautiful properties in Egypt which would look even more gorgeous decorated with the presence of Miss Pansy."

Strategist stopped his displaying and beamed happily at the now bewildered blonde girl. He waited until she glanced his way and nodded his approval.

Lucius went back to explaining the situation as it had unfolded. By the time everyone was satisfied with the answers to their questions it was time for the noon meal. He turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Is it possible to feed us since we are your guests? My entourage should be staying here to lend you aid while several of us are questing. They and Hogwarts will be much safer."

Dumbledore smiled happily at the assembly. "Young Harry has requested that you feel free to make Hogwarts your home for the next lunar cycle. I agree with him and wish to bid you all welcome. We will start by asking the house elves to find us a table for you here in the Great Hall so that you may eat and be comfortable."

He clapped his hands and Dobby, the demented house elf, escapee from the ninth level of hell, appeared and attached himself to Harry, latching on to his leg and squealing happily. "What can Dobby do for Harry Potter, Sir?"

Harry sighed patiently. "Dobby, my friend…"

Dobby dissolved into raptures, "Dobby is not deserving of Harry Potter, Sirs', kindness…"

Draco growled warningly and Dobby squeaked and attached himself even more firmly to Harry's leg. His eyes were larger than saucers as he saw who had made the angry noise. "Harry Potter, Sir, why is the bad Malfoy threatening you?"

Harry smiled at the little monster. (For all intents and purposes, Draco is to be referred to as a big monster.) "Dobby, Draco is my bond-mate. He's just being silly. Now be a good elf and let go of me before he shreds you to pieces and smears your blood all over the Great Hall."

The elf fell backwards and he sat on his butt looking up at the Snow Wraith. "What has Harry Potter, Sir, done?" He squeaked with horror. "Doesn't Harry Potter, Sir, know what a bad wizard him is?" The little elf pointed a bony finger at Draco in anger. "You stay away from my Harry Potter, Sir!"

Draco gave up trying to be an evil git. (Mostly because he is too lazy to keep the image up for long.) Flinging up his hands in frustration he fumed, "Harry, will you get that miserable thing off your leg? I swear to Merlin, that's a house elf's way to feel someone up!"

Dobby gave an enraged shriek and would have accosted Draco, except Harry grabbed him by his overly large sweater and held him back. "Dobby! Stop! Listen to me!" His commands rang out clear and the house elf dropped back into good house elf mode.

Harry watched as the elf's big eyes teared up and he began to cry. "Dobby, if you would listen for a moment, I need your help." His voice was gentle, but firm.

Dobby stopped looking for something to punish himself with. "What can I do for the great Harry Potter, Sir?"

As everyone else rolled their eyes at the spectacle, Harry bent down to Dobby's level. "You see all these people who have come to see Draco and I properly wed?" He pointed out to the avid audience. "All these people need a table to sit at while they eat their meals here in the Great Hall with everyone else. Then they are going to need rooms where they can rest. They will be staying the whole lunar cycle, OK? Can I trust you to be in charge of everyone getting comfortable rooms and enough to eat?"

"OH YES! Harry Potter, Sir, is a great wizard. Dobby will do this for him." He popped away and was back at a speed even house elves would envy as he performed house keeping spells and created another table for the grown-ups to sit at.

As the older people dined with the students, Harry went about his business of removing the Dark Mark from everyone who wanted it gone completely. He was rather touched at the desperation of Crabbe and Goyle as they knelt before him and begged him to give them his mark so that they would have protection against the Dark Lord.

It was a humbling thing for most of the observers to see the two men admit that although they were purebloods, their magic was weaker than most and they were scared that their families would be done away with completely as some of the other families had been.

By the end of the day everyone at Hogwarts knew what Harry had accidentally accessed an alternate universe and that he was needed to go and close it. He had his traveling companions all picked out and ready to go long before sundown. Obviously the temple guards would be going with him, as would Draco. It had surprised several people that Harry had asked Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy to go also.

He flat out refused to let Albus or any of his friends go. They all argued against his decision for several minutes before he raised his hand for quiet. When they finally gave him their attention, he spoke. "I spent several hours with the Temple Guards this afternoon. We scried as much as we could of the dimension we need to go to and from all indications only the guards and five from this dimension need to go."

As they all sat there glaring at him, Hermione spoke. "Five of you?" She was ready to launch into her reasoning on why she needed to go with him, but was saved the effort.

Before Harry could speak, another voice filled the room with fear. "Yes, five. I am the fifth. I am ready to go when you are, Potter. You had better be right about this!" In front of them stood Lord Voldemort in all his glory; tall, skinny, and rather snake-like in appearance. Without a costume, he was not going to find getting a date for the Halloween Ball an easy task.


	6. You and Me in  a little toy shop

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: Nothing! Nothing!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: You and me in a little toy shop… (Hogwarts universe)<strong>

The Temple Guards were not exactly thrilled to see Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort. Point of fact, they did not want him at all- truth was: they needed him. They actually had to have him with them to make the journey successfully. Getting him to Hogwarts had not been difficult- Harry had simply sent Hedwig along with a note requesting that they have a chat. Getting Tom to take the potion and travel with them was going to be the difficult part. Especially since his body ahem….carcass… was going to be vulnerable while they were gone.

Well, that is part of the reason seven guards showed up. Three of them would travel on with Harry and his contingent and four would stay and guard the bodies. The plane of existence they were traveling to was a spirit plane although those who inhabited it assumed they were flesh and blood. The inhabitants were, in fact, souls who had been split and separated from their corporal form.

It wasn't really that easy though. The split souls took with them memories of other people. Over time the memories evolved into interactive people- of sorts. It was a complex world in several ways, yet strangely simple if you knew to distinguish between the soul shards and the 'imaginary friends'. The questors were hoping that they would be able to disregard everyone except Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy.

So, why was Draco Malfoy going with them? There were only four souls that needed reunited somewhere between twilight and reality, yes? For that matter, had they really interpreted the prophesy correctly when they deduced that the four halves of the two wholes were Tom, Harry, Severus and Lucius?

The travelers outright refused to answer that question. The three temple guards who were going with the British wizard contingency were adamant that the people left behind did not need to know why Draco was going with Harry- let them assume that since the boys were bonded that they would need their together time.

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><p>Voldemort threw one of his famous Prima Donna fits just before everybody was ready to take their potion and fall asleep. They all cringed as they listened to the high pitched hissing, then began trying not to lose their composure and roll around the floor laughing when Ve-Ella began hissing back at him and Harry began speaking the running dialogue equivalent in English.<p>

It seems that Voldie was rather worried that someone would try to 'do him in' while he wasn't all there to protect himself. Then he went into a full blown rant when Ve-Ella insisted he was not 'all there' at the best of times. It was just totally undignified for the Greatest Wizard in the World to be insulted by a common variety garden snake.

Ve-Ella grew tired of his childish fit and slithered over to him. Right in the middle of him questioning whether she should even be an above ground snake, she sank her fangs into him. When he opened his mouth to give an agonized scream, Strategist popped the cork on the vial of hallucinogenic sleep potion and tipped it into the fake snake(Hey that rhymes)'s mouth.

Before Robinson Crusoe could call for his man, Friday(1), the rest of the 'gang' had downed their potions and laid back to enjoy a month of sleeping in the world they just left and a month of exhilarating challenges in the dream world.

Ve-Ella had told Harry what she planned to do before she went to argue with Voldemort. When Harry saw her rear back to sink her fangs into the big skinny idiot, he drank his vial of potion. He intended to be the first one over on the other side to wake up- it was one of those things to do with who had the drop on whom.

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><p>For a few seconds after Harry woke up he wondered if the potion had even worked. He seemed to be in exactly the same place he was when he left. Then the subtle differences began to process. He was where he should be and the rest of the squad was starting to stir also.<p>

Draco was the first one to open sleepy grey eyes and smile at his mate. It took one heavy lidded wink from Harry for him to be wide awake and ready to go (in more ways than one.) He jumped across the beds and was snogging the daylights out of the black haired hero by the time Friday finally got around to answering Robinson. (There are people in this world who appreciate the slow pace of the islands.)

As the others all stood around waiting for the couple to come up for air, Voldemort looked around in total confusion. "Yes, I feel it. I was right to come with you."

Lucius and Severus nodded faintly in response. Indeed, it did feel like there was something here that they needed. Of course, anyone who knew the three of them from before that fateful Halloween night could have told them they were missing something. Narcissa swore her list included her mate missing a few more marbles than he could afford- and Malfoys can afford quite a bit.

Harry and Draco had just pulled apart for some air when the doors to the infirmary crashed open and Headmaster Riddle entered the room. His eyes flared in surprise at the sight of the eight men, well seven men and the pseudo-snake. The sight of them flustered him for a few seconds, then he leaned his head down and groaned.

The prophecy spouted by the Umbridge hag was underway. The two times two seemed obvious now that he was looking at the silent men in front of him. Yes, it would definitely be the end of this particular world.

Straightening his body, Tom assumed the role of High Priest that he so often pushed away for that of the much more mundane, but more rewarding, one of Headmaster of the school. Extending his hand in a show of greeting, he said, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Headmaster Riddle. You may call me Tom."

Harry and Draco grinned at each other then looked from the figure of the elegant older man to that of his other half. They nodded to each other and turned as one to speak. "Tom, the reason we are here in this universe is to reunite several souls with their missing halves. We would like to take the time right now to introduce you to your missing half."

The Headmaster flinched as he bowed to the thing he had classed as less than human. "We must really need each other if our outer appearances are anything to go by."

Voldemort threw back his head and laughed uproariously. This trip was turning out to be more fun than the time he set the basilisk loose on Hogwarts and blamed it on Hagrid. It took him a few minutes to get the chuckles under control before answering. "Ah, the good old days… We have a lot to catch up on before we reunite."

Snape and Malfoy Sr. both flinched. Any Death Eater with a neuron left capable of firing knew that what Mr. Ugly had said boded 'not well' for everyone involved if he had his way. It was not a great leap of logic to understand that Voldemort intended to re-merge with his other half just to get the body back.

Footnote 1: _Robinson Crusoe_ is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. The book is a pseudo- fictional autobiography of the title character and is often discussed in Political Science classes as an excellent example of government satire.


	7. It's only a heartbeat away

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: Nice day for the Kentucky Derby wasn't it? One day I shall go... Been to Belmont, but not Kentucky. Must remember to put that on the "Do it before I slip the mortal coil" List. My next project is visiting the Grand Canyon this summer. Any good recommendations between Shrepo' and there?

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: It's only a heartbeat away… <strong>

Everyone agreed that they should stay in the Infirmary overnight rather than search out other accommodations. They all agreed that it would be better to remain in one place so they could protect each other while they worked toward solving the problems of integrating parts of themselves that had been separated for roughly sixteen years.

Before one and all settled down for the night, Tom firecalled Lucius Malfoy and informed him that the prophecy Umbridge spouted had been activated. If he and Severus would be so kind as to visit around ten A.M. of the morrow he would be eternally grateful.

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><p>Sunrise over Hogwarts was normally a spectacular sight as the sun's rays crept across the Scottish Highlands and began burning the swirling mists away from the spires to reveal the magical castle in all her glory. It was well into morning when everyone gave up hoping for a lovely day, and settled for overcast with patches of dampness. It did not halt the mission of the men in the castle, although it did rather feel like the universe was weeping at the impending loss of an existence…<p>

Lucius Malfoy arrived at exactly 9:45 A.M. and after helping his Duchess out of the carriage they arrived in, made their way upstairs to the Headmasters Office. On the way up they were joined by their old friend, Lord Snape, and they all ascended the revolving staircase together.

As usual, the door opened for them and they stepped through without breaking stride. Their stride did falter though when they looked around the room and saw themselves already sitting in chairs awaiting their arrival.

Narcissa was the first to break the stillness that had descended. With a shriek of heartfelt agony, she descended upon her son while calling his name. This son was almost a foot taller than her Draco had been, but there was no mistaking the fact that he was her child. Just as she was about to embrace him, one of the guards hauled Draco back and she fell forward onto the lap of one very surprised Harry Potter.

Harry stared wide-eyed at the beautiful woman. "Mrs. Malfoy, are you ok?" he whispered.

The woman looked into his big green eyes and knew no more. Everyone stared in horror as she faded out of existence. Her mouth opened softly in joyful surprise as she uttered her last words. "Oh! Yes! I want to go home."

Medical Officer stepped forward and did a scan on Harry. He seemed surprised for a few seconds then smiled at everyone. "It seems that Narcissa Malfoy in this universe needed a ride back to the other dimension. As of right now, Mr. Potter, you are pregnant with twins. It is highly likely that you will spontaneously abort the child that has just formed when you come in contact with Mrs. Malfoy once we return to our proper plane of existence."

Draco looked over at Captain. "How did this happen? I thought we were only going to integrate Harry, Daddy, Uncle Sev and Voldie. This isn't going to cause any problems for Harry and our baby is it?" He was absolutely terrified that his mate was going to have problems.

Medical Officer thought for a minute before answering. "Since they are two separate babies, Harry shouldn't lose them both. However, if any of the other three try to be absorbed by Harry there could be problems." He looked around at the other three men. "I recommend that you all bond with the other half of your soul as soon as possible to keep accidents like this from happening."

The snake man in the corner hissed his displeasure at being called Voldie, but before he could start any crap Tom raised an eyebrow and said, "Stuff it, Tommy. If you plan to steal my big sexy body you are going to have to cooperate better than you have been doing."

Red eyes glared balefully at red eyes. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when it was Tommy who stood down. They also noticed that even if he stood there and huffed in an insulted sort of way, he did not deny the fact that he wanted the other body.

Medical Officer scratched his head and waited for Tom and Tommy to stop fighting. When they stopped sniping, he spoke, "I truly don't have all the answers." He shrugged his shoulders, "If the two of you find more souls, which might happen, now that we know we missed finding Lady Malfoy's signature when we scried, Draco, I just hope we can handle them. When this plane of existence was created Lord Voldemort obviously pulled more bits and pieces of spirits through than we originally got readings on."

Lucius was listening to Medical Officer, but he couldn't resist shuddering as he looked from Tom to Severus. "Did I hear him say 'sexy body'?"

Both Snapes smirked when Tom answered Lucius' question. "Hey, that's enough of that. I'm only 70 something and I am in good shape! When we finally got rid of Dumbledore he was in his 140s and if you think Tommy looks bad, well that thing was barely recognizable as plasma!"

Voldie, or Tommy as he had been renamed, didn't bother to hide the fact that he was intrigued. "So Dumbledore is gone from here already?"

Tom didn't seem to have any problems with talking to his other half. "Albus Dumbledore died in this universe when he tried to destroy Harry Potter. By the time he disintegrated, he was even less human looking than you are."

Tommy glared at him for the insult. "I will admit that I don't look quite as pretty as I could, but it does wonders for my Dark Lord image."

Tom cheerfully nodded his head and chirped, "From right here, you look damned ugly. It really doesn't inspire me to merge with you at all. I mean, what happens if I lose my body like Narcissa did just now? I'd be stuck as the better half of a really ugly situation." He shuddered delicately and laughed outright when Tommy started to raise his wand.

The situation would have probably gotten out of hand completely if Harry had not stood up and clapped his hands. When all eyes were trained on him, he spoke, "If the two of you continue to bicker like children in playschool, I shall personally force the two you together just so I only have one asinine jerk to deal with."

Several sharp intakes of breath didn't faze him. Quirking an eyebrow at the lot of them he challenged them to do anything to him. He laughed outright when both Tom and Tommy snarled and stomped their feet. He decided to enlighten the other befuddled occupants of the Headmaster's office. "Wizarding law states that if any wizard knowingly hurts another childbearing wizard while said wizard is 'in gravid a' his immediate sentence is death- non negotiable, no extenuating circumstances permitted."

Tommy immediately grinned and turned to Draco, "However, I can inflict pain on Potter through alternate means."

Draco smiled sweetly. "Actually, you can't. I am all part and parcel of the happy pregger wizard collection. I am required to remain with my mate while he is in a childbearing state. Our bond says that whatever pain I feel, Mr. Potter also feels. Do you understand that concept?"

Tommy glared at Draco before swirling his robes around and storming back to his chair. It was of interest to the other wizards that he had actually turned his back on them…

Snape and Malfoy, Sr., grinned at each other. "This is just becoming more and more fun as we stand here." Snape said drooly.

Draco smiled sweetly at his new father-in-law. "You could say that." Then he grinned impishly and added, "That robe swirling thing… Which one of you is imitating the other?"

Snape guffawed as Tommy's normally palish green complexion turned a darker shade of green.

AU Malfoy looked around rather dazedly. "I think I should like to bond with my other half again. My Narcissa being gone is making me rather crazy." Just as he captured everyone's attention, he staggered forward and fell unconscious to the floor.

Lucius looked at his counterpart quizzically. "Do you reckon that he is failing because Narcissa and I are soul bonded?"

"I suppose you could absorb him before he dies and find out." Draco looked at his father expectantly.

"Oh, all right. This had better not mess things up worse though. If we are bonded, I need to get home to Cissy. I'm not sure she knows."

Draco just shook his head and stage whispered to Harry. "I think he is dragging his feet because he is scared."

Harry snorted and shook his head. Before Lucius could think of any other arguments on why he should not touch the prostrate body of his other self, he cast a jelly legs jinx on him and watched him trip right into himself.


	8. Met my old lover in the

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: Again, I have nothing to say that is important, relevant. or even interesting. That could be said for the story also... But, go ahead and read for yourself; you'll see what I mean.

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Met my old lover in the …<strong>

Medical Officer had everyone stay together until well after lunch. His excuse was that he wanted to observe Lucius and Harry. He didn't tell the others, but he also noticed the peculiar concept that the halves that hadn't bonded seemed to be developing a few of each others' traits.

The two Snape men did not bother him; he could see them moving toward mutual acceptance and successful reassembly. He didn't think that Harry would pose a big problem with his other half either. Simply because Harry had just parted with his dark side and he knew that he was here and needed him.

Tom and Tommy had him at a bit of a loss though. It was obvious that Tom didn't want to bond with Tommy because he didn't want to lose himself. At the same time, Tommy had picked up on the idea that bonding might not give him the body he wanted to end up with… It was going to be a long 29 and ½ days with the two of them playing cat and mouse.

HDHDH

The boys escaped from the 'Baby Sitters' as they walked from the Great Hall back up to Riddle's Office. As theTempleGuardswere laughing about the gargoyle jumping out of the way when Riddle said, "Defrost Cycle," they pressed up against a small tapestry and eased their way through a secret passage into another hallway.

Draco was happy enough to follow Harry through several passages once the green eyed lad had turned the puppy dog look on him and reminded him that his snake was bigger than Draco's snake... They were on their way out to the Quidditch pitch. Both boys wanted to fly and as far as they were concerned, nothing was going to stop them. They also liked the idea of 'private time' away from guards, parentals, and freak half-blood halves.

Draco didn't mind that Harry wanted to fly, but he didn't want him to do any stunts. He was very mindful of the fact that they had an unborn child to consider.

Actually, they had two unborn children to consider, but thinking about toting around your mother-in-law in your stomach was just too weird, even for Harry Potter.

The Quidditch pitch looked rather brighter than it did in Harry and Draco's time. It must have just been freshly repaired recently. No matter, the boys only intended to fly.

Their pick up game of tag and chase attracted no small bit of attention though. Both boys were better than the average Chudley Cannon player at the time and by the time they quit flying around most of the student body was in the stands.

When they landed, Harry smiled at Draco and whispered, "What do you think of us seeing how many of these are real and how many are illusions?"

Draco couldn't suppress his grin as Tom's words came back to them. "If the spirit is real you should touch it and absorb it. If it is an illusion it should burst and float away like a soap bubble." He wondered briefly why Harry would be so out of character, but decided that it probably was a good idea to sort the lot of spectators while they were all there together at one time. "Harry, are you really OK with doing this?" He asked.

Harry, laughing insanely, made a dive for the bleachers where Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Gryffindor house had congregated. He did not acknowledge the terror on their faces as he began touching the illusions and watching them float away.

Draco, behind him, began frantically searching through his robes. "Harry, shouldn't we keep track of all these illusions that we are dispelling?" There was also the tiny thought in the back of his mind that Harry was acting a wee bit off. His mate was actually starting to frighten him slightly. There was something wild and dark starting to swirl underneath the 'Pure One's skin.

Silk felt Draco's unease and began hissing gently to him. "All is well, Master. Harry only feels the presence of the rest of his soul. He feels the need to avenge your death even as he knows you are still alive. You do not need to worry so long as he doesn't draw his wand and start throwing killing curses."

"Why do you say that?" Draco hissed.

"Because if he were to throw the killing curse, there would be the chance of one of these images not being just an illusion and he would never forgive himself for actually killing part of someone's soul."

"Ah, I see your point."

Harry, having missed the whole exchange between Draco and Silk, turned from his bubble making massacre and shrugged. He looked at Draco's concerned face though and stopped to mull over the problem. "These don't feel like real people when I touch them, Draco. It is like flipping the pages in a book. There is no sensation here like there was when your mother's soul touched me."

Draco thought about it for a few seconds. "What did it feel like when Mother touched you and became part of you?" He looked at Harry hungrily. "I always thought that I imagined it, Harry, but I just knew Mother had changed after Voldemort was defeated the first time." He shrugged at Harry's look of inquiry. "I know it sounds stupid. I was only about seventeen months old, but wizarding children are odd by definition, Harry. Our magic is unique to ourselves in several ways."

Harry nodded his understanding of Draco's explanation. "Yeah, I did get the impression that there was a 'mean' that most magical children compared to, but everyone seems unique in some way or another. As for the soul piece I acquired, well…" He considered the question for some time before finally saying, "It is kind of like when you walk through one of the ghosts. There was a sensation that let me feel something had happened."

"What happens if we have to dispel every illusion before we can get back to our universe?" There was real fear in Draco's voice. "I don't want to be stuck here without proper medical attention for you. We can't go to a medi-witch here because the minute you touch her she will dispel."

Harry grinned. "I think we can worry about that later. We have only been here one night. According to Historian we should have another twenty-eight days, yes?" He saw the fear in Draco's eyes and knew he needed to add some reassurance. "Draco, stop fretting. Did you forget that we have medical officer here with us?"

"Yes, he's here. But he hasn't actually touched you. What if he can't and he needs to?"

"Then I trust you to get us back home. All you have to do is pour the counter-potion down my throat and I will wake up on the other side, right?"

Draco sighed dramatically before shaking his head. "OK. Let's get this done then."

They did not fine anymore split souls, for which they both breathed a sigh of release. It was with profound relief that they finished writing down the names of the de-illusioned students and sent it to the Headmaster's Office for him to compare against the master list of whom all still needed tested.

After the exhausting task was complete, Harry sat down on the lowest set of bleachers and leaned back to look up at the sky. He watched the cloudy September sky for a few minutes before saying, "I wish it would snow. I want to watch snowflakes land on your eyelashes and lick them off with my tongue." He ran his little pink tongue across pouty red lips after he delivered that statement to the terribly interested Malfoy.

Draco looked up. There were a few fat rain clouds within calling distance of his charms. He might be able to call them to him. "How badly do you want some snow, Luv?"

Harry smiled. "Can you get me snow? I know that Malfoys think they can do anything, but can you really make it snow without hurting yourself?"

Draco huffed. "Don't you remember what kind of a magical creature I am?"

The giggles from his mate had him instantly hard. "I know exactly what kind of a magical creature you are!"

Draco growled at the sexy boy in front of him. "I AM a magical creature and I will prove it to you! Just you sit and watch."

Harry blinked and sat up straight as Draco began removing his clothes. The alabaster skin that had probably never before seen direct sunlight glowed iridescent in the chill of the day, and he found himself licking his lips again as the lithe firm body of his mate was exposed to the elements.

A gentle cold wind soon picked up around Draco as he closed his eyes and began moving his body sinuously. A strange warbling sound that had no other function than to enthrall the elements emerged from his throat.

Draco did not tell Harry that only a Snow Wraith's mate could hear their song. He became as lost in the dance as Harry was, once he realized that Harry was responding appropriately to his performance.

Harry sat in the bleachers and listened to Draco's call. It was the most beautiful melody he had ever heard. Never before had he noticed snowflakes laughing as they danced their way from sky to earth. Within minutes of Draco calling to him, Harry answered.

The one they had agreed to call Harold also answered. Neither boy noticed the tall handsome lad watching in awe as the blond danced. He wanted badly to strip off his clothes and go to him. The only thing that stopped him answering was the fact that he had heard the smaller, black haired male call the dancer Draco and his heart clutched in agony. By the time the two boys were finished whirling about in the snow drift they had called up, tears of longing and hopelessness ran down his cheeks.

Harry and Draco didn't know what they were doing once the mating instinct kicked in. Dancing naked on the Quidditch pitch in the middle of a snowstorm during the daylight hours seemed perfectly logical; it was totally reasonable that they would shag each other silly while they were at it.

The only difficulty the boys mating created was that Ve-Ella didn't like the cold. Silk wasn't a big fan of the snow drifts either. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were Egyptian temple asps and preferred hot sand. It was therefore perfectly acceptable in their eyes to take up residency in the robes of the only living being still within crawling distance of them.

She didn't bother to announce her presence to him before making herself comfortable so Silk didn't either. Ve-Ella wound her way up Harold's leg and came to rest with her head peeping out the loosened part of his sleeve.

Harold felt the snakes moving under his robes and sat perfectly still, waiting for them to cease movement. When the jewel-eyed serpents peeked out to where their masters were, he began to hiss at them. "What do you think you are doing climbing in strange wizard's robes?" He asked.

After assuring herself that Harry and Draco were suitably occupied and there was no threat to them, she turned to Harold. "I was cold. My son was cold also. So, we came to talk to you while our masters do their mating dance."

"Why are they doing that here where anyone can see them?" Harold asked as he stared longingly at the couple now cuddling in the snow.

Silk looked around then began explaining Harry and Draco's predicament to Harold.

Harold seemed rather surprised to hear that he was part of a soul that had been shattered when the world he was living in had been formed. As the smaller snake hissed of fractured worlds and broken lives, he reflected on the fact that from the time he had been taken from his fathers, he had felt like there was more missing than just his family.

Ve-Ella tried to explain that when the Dark Lord Dumbledore created this world he had split more souls than the Temple originally thought. TheTemplehad known about the alternate universe the whole time but had been unable to access it without one of the original souls reactivating the portal. The reason they were there now was because the portal had been activate by the smaller black haired male who was getting dressed and looking for her.

Draco was totally in his element. Rolling around in the snow had added a luster to his skin that made him practically shimmer. The only reason he reached for his robes was because he saw Harry shivering.

"The cold shouldn't bother you soon, Luv." He said to his mate.

The green-eyed lad finished dressing and looked up into the stormy grey eyes of his lover. "What do you mean?" He asked. It was a query for knowledge only, no fear involved.

Draco flashed his beautiful white teeth. "When I ejaculated inside you, your body used part of my semen to make you pregnant. The rest of it was absorbed into your blood stream and will help mutate your body to support a snow wraith kitten." He grinned at Harry's pink cheeks and added, "It also cuts down horrendously on the mess!"

Harry gave an indignant squawk and chucked a huge pile of snow at his grinning lover with some wandless magic. While Draco cleaned snow off his face, Harry bolted for the bleachers, calling frantically for Ve-Ella.

Draco advanced with a huge ball of snow as Harry searched frantically for his snake. Not finding her where he left her, Harry whirled around and glared at him. "Don't you dare! If you hurt me or the babies you are going to hear about it from more than just me!"

The blond laughed and continued to advance. He was just getting ready to dump the snow on Harry when Harold stepped out of the shadows and conjured an umbrella for the other half of his soul.


	9. Under my Umbrella

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: What can I say? I'm obsessed with writing and trying to make people laugh at random times...

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Under my umbrella …<strong>

Harold stood there holding the umbrella between the two boys. He wanted to reach out and touch either or both boys, it was a compelling feeling. He knew immediately that the two Temple Asps had spoken the truth and he wanted desperately to become again what he should have been all along. The searing pain of separation from his lover, the aloneness he had faced since he was a toddler, it was all melting together inside him in a white hot agony. He was becoming nothing more than an emotional nightmare and was ready to grab onto anything that would end his pain.

He looked hungrily at the blond; eyes glowing an unhealthy green. He couldn't help licking his lower lip as he caught the other boy's attention. This Draco wasn't the same Draco that Harold had held in his arms and worshipped with his body, no, this one was as tall as himself and as well cared for. Harold was the first to drop his gaze as he recognized a man in front of him who was more than the sum of all the parts he remembered his Draco being. There was no fear in this Draco's face, only the calm assurance that he had everything and was determined to keep it: this was THE Malfoy.

After Harold backed down from Draco, the smaller boy caught his attention and held it. Harry was sprawled out on the icy steps, having slid on them when Harold first appeared with the umbrella. The boy was calling to Draco to help him up because he was hurt and couldn't stand. Harold's eyes widened as he noticed the red stain spreading around the boy's hip.

Draco snarled at Harold. "You need to move back. I want to check Harry, and it isn't a good idea for you to touch him while he is hurt." He had noticed quickly that Harry wasn't bleeding from the crotch, he was damaged but the babies were not in danger.

Harold had been moving steadily closer to Harry. He wanted to help the boy and had just extended his arm to do so when Harry shrieked in terror and rolled painfully away from him. The next thing Harold saw was a wand in his face; twelve and a half inch white oak, with a dual core of dragon heartstring and veela hair.

"Move one more inch closer and I am going to AVADA KEDAVARA you." Draco hissed. "I told you to back off. What the fuck do you think you are doing?"

Harold blinked in surprise. 'Shit! This Draco is bloody awesome!' he thought as he began to back up slightly. His Draco had been too gentle and well-bred to threaten anyone with death if they messed with him. Maybe if he had been more assertive he would still be alive, but then he wouldn't have been his Draco… However, this one was showing definite possibilities of being a 'keeper'.

Draco bent and scooped Harry up in his arms. I am going to take you to Uncle Sev, OK? He has had some medi-wizard training." He was cooing to Harry, trying to get the boy to calm down.

Harold watched them with a hungry look on his face. 'Soon!' He promised himself. 'Soon that love and concern would be mine again.' The caring concern of his Draco was there, there was just so much more to this Draco, but he would have him all.

As Draco turned and started the trek up to the castle, he heard Ve-ella hiss at Harold. "If you don't follow those two right now, I am going to bite you so bad that the medi-wizards are going to cast INCENDIO on you rather than look at you twice."

Harold looked down at the snake wrapped around his arm. "And, what happens if I tell you to go stuff your fangs in a rat's arse?"

The big black snake tightened a few coils around his wrist and he began to feel a tingling sensation. Ve-ella glared at him for a few more seconds as she let him absorb the message; there was a snake on each wrist and they both had an interest in making him do exactly what they told him to.

Harold glared as she released his tingling arm slightly. "Bloody, stupid bitch! Why don't you just slither off and leave me alone? I don't need this crap." He squawked indignantly as she raised her head up and bared her fangs.

"You misbegotten, sorry excuse for an illusion," She took a small breath and continued, "Move right now or so help me with all the Temple Gods, I am going to let Silk bite you in the privates!"

Harold took off for the castle at a run. While he had been arguing with Ve-ella, Silk had wended his way back through the sleeve and was now nestled comfortably next to his dangly bits. The boy really was quite brilliant, and once he understood a situation, he could almost always be counted on to act in an appropriate manner.

D&H

Draco put a SONORUS on his voice the minute he entered the Great Hall with his bundle. "Uncle Sev, I need you in the Great Hall." Echoed up and down the corridors for a good two minutes before the man raced into the room, red faced from dashing up the steps from the dungeon.

Severus took one look at Draco holding a bruised and slightly bloody Harry Potter in his arms and damn near passed out from fright. He grabbed the edge of the table and stood there swaying for several seconds before he managed to catch his breath. His voice was perfectly modulated as he snarled, "What the hell happened this time? I watched you two out there flying and he was fine. You sexually molested him in a snow drift and he was fine."

Draco twitched. He could smell the fear on this Severus. Bringing Harry to him while the boy had blood on him might not have been the best idea. But, Severus was the best medi-wizard around, and quite possibly the only one who could heal Harry. Draco had long since given up on Medical Officer, he was convinced that the man was not about to touch any of Hogwarts people…

"What the HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Was roared rather than shouted. The lights in the enchanted roof flickered and dimmed considerably as the older wizard sent out a flare of magic that shook the dust off the walls and sent the house elves screaming to Headmaster Riddle that there was a bad wizard tearing up the Great Hall.

Harold walked in just as Severus stormed over to where Draco was gently placing Harry on a table. The older man was none too gentle with his god son as he shoved him out of the way and began assessing the damage to his only child.

Severus cast a banishing charm on Harry's jeans then sighed in relief after investigating the cut that marred the pale thin thigh. It was little more than a deep scratch and had probably been made by something that was stuck in the bleachers when Harry slid and fell. It would only take a moment's work to put some salve on the cut and heal it.

Severus mumbled for a few seconds as he dug through his robes for a blood replenishing potion and the correct salve. Having found them, he set them down and went back to mumbling to himself as he cast a wandless cleaning charm on the leg.

Harold and Draco both watched Severus take care of his son. Draco could tell that Severus had integrated with his missing soul part simply by the way the man acted. There was a gentleness to this man that Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts had never before possessed.

Draco and Harold shared a look that said, "Here is a whole person who we are glad to know." The two of them inched closer and closer to Severus and Harry, not paying attention to each other, but wanting to be part of what Severus and his son were sharing. From where the two boys were standing, being held in the loving arms of one's parent was the most enticing thing in the world.

They were almost touching shoulders when Harry looked over and saw what was happening. His eyes burned green fire as he lunged at the boy who was daring to touch his mate.

Harold's introduction to his other half was a fist to his jaw and a round house sweep that sent him rolling to the floor. Then before he could do anything to defend himself, the little monster was on top of him, and reaching for his neck to throttle him.

Harold Potter warped out of existence with an extremely surprised look on his face. The impression that Harry got as he felt his body being completed by his other half was, 'Merlin's Arse! I am in for a ride now.'

Harry had been filled with a savageness that had never been displayed by him ever before. Seeing anyone next to his mate had been the most singularly unpleasant thing he had endured for ages. Draco was his and no one else was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with him- ever!


	10. Like an actor on a movie screen

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: I really appreciate the few people who take the time to read/review. Thank you all!

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Like an actor on a movie screen…<strong>

Headmaster Riddle's reaction to the boys' day's work was not quite what one would have expected. He wasn't actually impressed that the two of them had single-handedly dispatched about 99.9 percent of his world, all without telling him that they were going to do so. Between Tom and Tommy, the living, breathing, control freak known as Albus Dumbledore looked like an Upper Form boy doing his two week job experience at a Nursery School, after spending the last few years training to become a computer nerd. No, this latest stunt had not gone over well.

To put it mildly, Tom wasn't too pleased to find that Harry and Draco had spent the afternoon dispelling illusions. He eyed the huge list of names they had provided for him and grimaced. A cursory glance at the list had him guessing that the whole student body was gone and most of the teachers. The pressure of his world collapsing was starting to take its toll on him.

He looked over at the ugly green tinged guy and shook his head. "Tommy?"

Voldemort opened his eyes from where he had been napping beside the fire. "Yes?" His voice was perfectly calm.

"There was a prophesy made by one of the witches in this universe just before you all came. It said that this universe would end. This scroll that just showed up is a list of students whom Messers Potter-Malfoy just decimated. They destroyed the whole student body and most of the teachers, all without my permission, I might add."

Voldie simulated arching a brow. "And this means what to me?"

Tom wasn't completely fooled. He heard the underlying interest the other was trying to hide. "They have destroyed the reason for the school. We now need to go out in to the magical realm which this all encompasses. The rest of the images that inhabit this world probably need to be dealt with."

"Why not let them all just disappear with the universe when it disintegrates?"

"We won't be able to 'close' the portal if there is a soul here who is more than an illusion. At least that is what theTemplePimptold me."

"Pimp? What in the name of Merlin is a pimp?" Voldie seemed perplexed.

"Ummmm, you don't know what a pimp is? Just forget it; we need to get back to the problem of getting this universe deleted so that no more partial souls will wander in here and set up shop."

"Wouldn't we work better together if we integrated?" Voldemort was the epitome of practicality with that question.

Tom didn't want to become part of the snake man. He wanted the snake man to become part of him. He decided to say as much. "Tommy, I don't want to touch you while we are in this universe because I don't want to become part of you. I don't want to look like you, talk like you, or even go around acting like Senior Psychopath. Maybe if we hold off connecting to each other until we get back to the other dimension you will be able to absorb into my body and we can try being a normal wizard for whatever time we have left."

Voldie didn't know what to say. The reasoning was sound. Maybe it would be better to wait and work on what they wanted independently. They did actually want the same goal. They wanted the better body, they wanted the combination of knowledge and experience, and they both wanted their social status retained. He also did not want to be seen as giving in too easily so he glared at Tom. "Why can't we just cast a magical energy spell to determine if there are any other split souls here in this universe and retrieve them that way. Didn't that puffed up pigeon who called himself Captain say something about scrying? Maybe we could try that."

Tom muttered, "Pimp, puffed up Pigeon…Idiot has more names than he does brains." Aloud, he answered, "Yes, I guess we could start with scrying." He rolled the parchment back out and checked the names. "Only problem with scrying is I am not too good at it, and the glory boys have already dispatched Sybil."

Tommy turned his gaze back to the fire. "That was a fine figure of a woman in my universe. Too bad she was dumber than a box of rocks. At one time I had considered taking her as a wife."

Tom looked at him disbelievingly.

Tommy showed his fangs as he grinned. "No, really, I did. I was contemplating producing an heir, and I did consider her because her family really does have the Seer talent. Trewloneys, over the years, have actually made several predictions that were accurate."

Tom shook his head in amazement at his other half. "Was this before or after the two of us parted company?"

Tommy considered the question. "You know, now that you mention it, I think it was before." Here he began digressing from the subject and Tom wound up holding his mirth in check (barely).

"However, we were quite a dashing figure at one point. We didn't really start to lose our looks until after we performed those last two immortality rituals. She would have accepted our suit back then." He kicked at the piece of wood which had tumbled out of the fireplace and was lying on the hearthstone smoldering.

His red eyes were full of sadness as he added, "I guess we should just let it all go and stop worrying about blood purity, Harry Potter and his prophesy, and all the other things that I knew I couldn't change but just had to try to anyway. It seems sometimes that all I ever did was lose more and more of myself while never actually gaining anything."

Tom looked at the depressed snake man. "Hey, let's worry about that later. We can still work on world domination once we get back to the bigger, better universe." Then he looked around the Headmaster's office and sighed. "How did we get off track and start ranting about blood purity. If wizards were made of snow, we'd be the three day oldLondonspecial."

Voldemort sneered. "Yeah. We are, aren't we; the yellow snow beside the fire hydrant. That is the bloody attitude that set me off in the first place. I really hate not being good enough."

"I think we are probably good enough. At least to take over the world when we get back to the one we want to own."

"Tom, you've lived in the Ivory Tower too long. The only thing that will happen is Harry Potter will defeat me again." Here he snorted, "But that is only after he has delivered the child he carries." He looked up at Tom and casually stated. "With Lucius Malfoy's money, Severus Snape's intelligence, Crabbe and Goyle's devotion; I reckon Harry Potter has just won. The only thing left for me to do in my universe is throw in the towel and tell them where the horcruxes they haven't found yet are."

"Tommy, don't be so negative. It is our universe also, and there will be a place for us. However, before we go there, we need to get this universe sorted. Now, how would you like to go about helping dispose of the rest of the images?"

Tommy grinned. "I'm not touching any mudbloods. And, I insist that I get to use the AVADA KEDAVARA."

Tom growled in frustration. "You aren't touching any mudbloods…Merlin, do you hear yourself? That is the stupid attitude that got us into this mess. If you don't start behaving yourself, I am never going to integrate with you."

"Oh, Please? I haven't murdered anyone in such a long time! We should make our way over to the Ministry of Magic right now and murder the whole lot of them as they sleep at their desks."

Tom grinned. It was no less than what he wanted to do most days. "Oh, all right then." The whole concession lacked the remorse one would have thought would be forthcoming.

Tommy stood up and yawned widely. Reptilian teeth glittered in the light of the fire. Just to irritate him, Tom made the observation, "It's awfully good of you to open your mouth that wide and not bite anyone, old chap."

Tommy blinked. "Are you trying to be an idiot, or does it come naturally?"

Tom smirked. "Judging by the looks of you, I'd day that when we separated, I not only got all the looks, I got the charm, grace, and wit. Honestly, Tommy, when you opened your mouth like that, it was just hideous."

"Yes. As I explained before, it is part of what makes me such an awesome Dark Lord."

Tom huffed as he eyed his counterpart dubiously. "That Potter boy would make a lovely dark lord. He's well on his way. Shall we sit and exchange a few stories of the universe while we wait on everyone to either..." Here he stopped talking and peered out the window before resuming, "Wait for everyone to either stop shagging, or quit racing about the Potions lab checking to see what all is here that isn't in the other universe?"

Tommy's interest was piqued. "What do you reckon is different?"

Tom glared this time. Throwing his hands up in the air, he snarled. "How in the name of Merlin would I know what's different? HELLO! Snake Face! This is my universe and you are the visitor. You tell me what is different."

Tommy sat back down in his chair and motioned for Tom to sit. "I think you and I are blending together regardless of whether or not we are touching."

"What makes you think that?" Tom was hesitant to admit he wasn't all-knowing here, but he had to get on.

Tommy kept his face averted from the frustrated Headmaster. "Back in my universe I would have killed you for speaking out of turn. Here, I let you insult me countless times, which I might point out really is more my behavior. Yet I remain calm while you act totally idiotic."

The Headmaster sat down heavily in the other chair. "I might as well admit that this integrating thing has me bothered. I'm pretty sure that we are going to keep your body. I'm not thrilled with the idea. Then there is the added bonus that when we get back to your universe, everyone is going to want to kill us immediately."

Tommy wasn't too thrilled with that bit of information. He laid his head on a bent arm and returned his contemplative gaze to the fire. When he finally spoke again, it was to ask a question. "So, what would you like to do? Do you want to be carried back to our world by someone else so we can investigate this phenomenon?"

Tom heaved a sigh. "I don't know. I hate this business of not knowing!" He regarded the fire for a few minutes before brightening a bit. "Maybe, if I touched the Potter boy and got carried back as part of him, and you got hold of the Potter from this world…" His voice petered out and he wilted back to his original position.

Tommy grinned. "That would be absolutely delicious. Let's go look for the boys." The smile on his face would have been enough to scare Merlin himself.

They discussed whether the Dolores Umbridge of this universe could be considered a seer since she channeled the prophesy as they walked down the stairs to the Great Hall. They got there just in time to see Harry Potter launch himself across the table and take the boy known as Harold Potter down.

Together, they spoke as they looked at each other, "Well, there is another idea down the boghole." They then nodded knowingly before stepping forward and seating themselves at the head table to signal the start of dinner.


	11. You say, Go slow  I fall behind

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

A/N: Only a few more chapters, folks. Then I shall find some other story to torture you with.

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: You say, "Go slow." I fall behind…<strong>

After dinner Tom had one of his house elves ring the bells to summon all of those who were still dwelling in Hogwarts II. Once the people were assembled Tom explained to everyone what was happening and why they had been summoned.

Within minutes several queues had been formed and the people were cheerfully walking forward to be touched by one of the Questors from Hogwarts I. Disbursing illusions had not been what any of the visitors would consider after dinner entertainment, but it did go rather quickly and even had a few high moments.

There had been a few hilarious encounters as the people came forward, but the questors did not find any other souls. It was with a great deal of relief that the last person was touched and floated away like a bubble from a child's bubble maker. Had anyone cared to pay attention they would have seen the bubbles float away in one specific direction then suddenly disappear without breaking. The questors might have thought that the path the bubbles took was whichever way the wind blew. To a certain extent that was true. However, it could also be true that when one universe collapses and the memories fade away those ideas might merge with their counterparts in another dimension as dreams…

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><p>Harry and Draco were not only sensitive to the changes around them; they had found a way to link back to Hogwarts One, as they affectionately referred to their universe. The portraits could travel between the void and appear at will in either Hogwarts One or Hogwarts Two. The portraits of Cedalia Marchbanks and Phineus Nigelus Black (Hereafter referred to as PNB) were two that liked to keep tabs of what was going on everywhere and made the trip between the two schools on a regular basis to let Harry and Draco know exactly what was happening at Hogwarts One.<p>

What the boys were finding was not pleasing them. They decided to call a war council of the portraits, the fathers, and theTempleGuards. The information had to be distributed, analyzed, and acted upon immediately. They would only have a matter of hours to get things straightened out in order to return to Hogwarts One. Dumbledore tampering with the timeline thing had almost succeeded in condemning them to the alternate universe.

Tom and Tommy would have to be let in on this also. Everyone was going to have to work together to get back safely. Dumbledore may be dead and gone in this universe, but he was certainly alive and wrecking havoc in the other one.

Tom's memory of the events leading up to the demise of Dumbledore was put into a pensive and everyone had a go at observing them. They eventually came to the conclusion that Dumbledore had faked his death in this universe and was living as a whole entity at Hogwarts One. The plasma that Tom had assumed was the remains of Dumbledore, after analysis by Snape and Medical Officer was determined to be nothing more than a gelatinous mess created by means of a potion.

Dumbledore had had sixteen years to consolidate his position at Hogwarts One. He also had access to the Hogwarts Express. The importance of the Hogwarts Express was that it was the timeline between the two universes and it had been tampered with on the night of Alban Elved, or Autumn Equinox.

Now, it was a race against time for everyone to find the calculations that Dumbledore had used to throw the timelines out of sync and get the two universes parallel before the next new moon. They had just over a week in the one universe and only a matter of hours in the other.

They did not have a great deal of time to plot strategy or anything else; it was going to be a hodgepodge thing, fly by the seat of one's pants actually. Snape and Malfoy Sr., decided that they would go dance attendance on the Senior Psychopath and his better half. Harry and Draco would activate the summoning to call everyone to Hogwarts who hadn't already been eliminated on the Quidditch pitch or at the Ministry, and the ghosts would go back to Hogwarts One and try to either slow down Dumbledore's plans or stop them completely.

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><p>Cedalia Marchbanks, the portrait from the Library, had taken a stroll around Hogwarts and had discovered the fact that Albus Dumbledore was trying to sabotage the Quest. He had even gone so far as to ask theTempleGuardswhat the feasibility of leaving the men in the other realm would be.<p>

Strategist took one look at the old one and said, "IF you do anything to stop the Questors from returning, I will contain your magic and feed it to Bellatrix LaStrange, right after I sit you in front of her and then piss her off."

Albus had just gazed at him, eyes full of fireflies and nodded his head. There was no way he was going to take the man seriously. After all, he had made a spectacle of himself, just a few days ago by publicly displaying an interest in the Parkinson chit. Apparently Albus had forgotten the precept that brilliant people often fall for others who are not as intellectually gifted as themselves…

Strategist could read him like a book; a very uncomplimentary book at that. He actually knocked the firefly look right off Dumbledore's face when he turned to Medical Officer and dead panned, "Albus likes to play chess. See Albus play chess. See Albus lose."

Medical Officer just shook his head at his associate's antics. "Here," he grinned as he offered Albus a sweet. "Care for a lemon drop?"

Albus watched as Medical Officer reached into the tin he was holding out to him and plucked out a green one for himself. The lemon drops looked especially delectable, their pure yellow glow, dulled only slightly by their sugar coating. He noticed that the candies all had different wrappers. There really was no way to tell if the candy was tampered with or not. He chose to eat one of the lime ones also.

The three of them stood there chatting for several more minutes before Medical Officer bowed to the two and excused himself. "I must do my rounds. With your permission, I am away."

Strategist looked at the old man. "Would you care to join me for some refreshments before returning to your chambers?"

"A cup of tea would be lovely, my boy." The Headmaster really had no way of knowing that the drugged candy he ingested would be activated by the tea. He was soon sleeping like a baby.

Scrier, Strategist, Medical Officer and Body Guard left him snoozing in Poppy Pomphrey's chair and when the others went down to the library, Body Guard warded the room the Questors were in and pulled up a chair so he could be comfortable while he guarded the sleeping men.

Harry had told them about the portrait who took care of him and Draco, and they had questions to ask her about Dumbledore. That old man was getting to be about as dangerous as a Third World Country with a clutch of nuclear weapons.

Cedalia was pleased to chat with three of the four men. She told them about Albus's plots within plots, how Harry and Draco were doing in the other universe, and…

Strategist blinked at Cedalia's portrait, then blinked again. "Did you just tell me that only 24 hours has elapsed in Questor universe?" He was calm, but the thread of agitation was evident in his voice. He was not comfortable with the idea that time was no longer moving at the same speed in the two universes. Up to this point, it had done so. He knew this because theTemplehad been monitoring the parallel universe the whole time it had been in existence.

Cedalia nodded her head. "Oh, yes. I am quite sure that the time is out of sync. I mentioned it to the boys. They were both surprised but not unduly upset. I sent the portrait of Headmaster Black along to explain to them what it was that Dumbledore did to break the parallel time line."

Scrier just had to ask, "What, precisely, did he do? And, what has been happening there?"

She launched into the short version of Harry, Malfoy Sr., and Snape all meeting and assimilating their missing soul pieces. It wasn't until they were getting ready to go back upstairs to make sure Albus was in fact sleeping and not doing anymore damage that she mentioned, "You might want to go down to the Alumni quarters and have Lady Malfoy pay me a visit. I have some news for her."

Back upstairs, in the room which had been assigned for theTempleGuards, the four regrouped. Strategist was thoroughly irritated about the timeline changing and him not being aware of it until someone told him. It meant that either he or his equipment had been meddled with. Missing something as important as incongruent time was not something he took lightly because it meant there was something wrong with him.

Medical Officer ran a scan on him to identify inhibitor spells of various kinds. Once those were removed, he checked everyone else for irregularities. By the time the four were back to being comfortable in their skin, Narcissa and a few other witches had shown up to discuss war strategy with them.

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><p>Phineaus Nigelus Black, former Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was one happy ghost, but not just any ghost. He was, in fact, a Slytherin ghost, and everyone knows that a Slytherin, once a Slytherin, is always a Slytherin.<p>

Albus Dumbledore had forgotten that point when he set about putting his plots into motion. Albus was operating under the assumption that all the old headmasters would be loyal to him and the school and would help him with whatever plots he was working on. Albus had just made the technical error in explaining to the former headmasters that the portal needed to be sealed so that the Questors could not return. Voldemort needed to be contained where he could not do anymore damage to the universe and seven men was an acceptable loss.

Seeing that three of those men were direct relatives of his, PNB secretly rejected Dumbledore's plan and was determined to bring his boys back. In addition, he had the added incentive of Harry and Draco explaining to him that they were in possession of a shard of Narcissa's soul that had been dragged to the other universe also. It was definitely in the Black family interest to keep the portal open until all the Questors returned. He would do what was good for the Black family first and worry about the Light later.

His part of the plan involved a discussion with Narcissa regarding just what it was that Albus Dumbledore had done over the last three weeks which could have messed up the time line. The only thing they could come up with was the fact that he had boarded the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade and had taken the train toStonehenge.


	12. Fools to the left of me, jokers to the r

Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.

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><p>Book of Dreams<p>

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><p>Chapter 12: Fools to the left of me, jokers to the right…<p>

And so, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, sipping tea and occasionally leaning over to place a few ideas down on paper. It had taken almost 135 years to get to this point in his life. If he could keep the Questors at Hogwarts2 until the time line ran out of track, he could seal them in the other dimension and then he could claim supreme rule of this universe.

He scratched idly at an itch on his head as he thought about what he was effecting here. He had the chance to seal Voldemort away. That would mean he had defeated not one, but two dark lords in his lifetime. That would put him in every history book, maybe just behind the great wizard Merlin himself.

The portraits all assured him that nothing untoward had happened at Hogwarts while he had been napping. Even old Ethan Marchbanks had spoken to him. Apparently his librarian wife had asked him about certain practices that were normally reserved for doing at Stonehenge. She had been questioning Ethan because she had overheard Phineaus Nigelus Black say that Headmaster Dumbledore had been there recently and she wanted to know if the waning moon services were still in effect.

Of course Albus had no intention of admitting that he didn't know what Cedaila Marchbanks was actually asking about. He would figure out something though, he always did. He would just go down to the Great Hall where Bellatrix Black LeStrange and her sister, Narcissa Black Malfoy, were enthralling everyone with some extra history lessons regarding the magical sites and ley lines of theBritish Isles. As he wandered that way he drew upon his massive memory.

Both girls had gone on after their NEWTS to further their educations. Bellatrix had reached the rank ofTempleMatronjust before she had been sent off to Azkaban. If memory served him, she had finished her Masters of Witchcraft Religion while in Azkaban. Narcissa's education had been derailed slightly by the birth of her son, but she soon caught up with Bellatrix in the academic arena. It was now a well known fact that depending on whichever phase of the moon you wanted to perform a ceremony in, would determine which lady you would petition to perform the rites. The dark woman normally handled the waning moon ceremonies while the pale lady performed rites of waxing moon.

Come to think of it, now that he had thought about it, there had been ying/yang sets in the Black family since the times of Merlin. It was rumored that the first daughters born to the House of Black and been from the marriage of Mervin Black to a blood daughter of Morgana Le Fey. The prior set had passed away just shortly after Bellatrix and Narcissa achieved their Mastery of Magical Religion.

Down in the Great Hall things were moving along quite nicely- if you were part of the Potter-Snape-Malfoy Camp. Honestly, at this point, things were starting to look rather GRIM for Albus Dumbledore and he did not have the first clue. It is terribly amusing how some people can get caught up in their little plots to take over the world and forget that they are only as smart as their one brain will allow. Quite often the collective brain will win out simply because of the greater wealth of ideas covering a greater set of facets to any problem.

Cissy and Bella were not only giving all the children a heavy crash course in Religious Festivals, they were reviewing all the procedures and placements with the rest of the witches who had been selected to 'ride the train' toStonehenge. The whole room was alight with enthusiasm for the festival and the young minds were throwing ideas back to the twelve on every conceivable angle of the project.

Dumbledore would have been quite annoyed if he knew that Poppy and Minerva had stood up and explained to everyone the significance of this mission failing. All the pureblood parents had been outraged that Dumbles would threaten four powerful pureblood families in such an underhand way. They had set the stage for everyone cooperating.

Lavender and Parvati had proven useful when the selections had begun to take place regarding which women would stand and perform the rituals. Lav had immediately grasped the concept that the women would need to break down into triumvirates; there would need to be a crone, a mother, and a maiden at each of the four cardinal points. After discussing the aspects of the four corners and their peculiar properties, the ladies were chosen. Bellatrix would serve as Chief Priestess. The crones would be Augusta Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, and Bathilda Bagshoot. The Mother aspect would be served as Molly Weasley, Narcissa Malfoy, Rosemary Parkinson, and Hestia Finnigan. The four maidens chosen were Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Pansy Parkinson, and Susan Bones.

After discussing the cardinal points in relation to the seasons, everyone found it quite interesting that the Bellatrix LeStrange chose Augusta Longbottom, Molly Weasley, and Hermione Granger to form the triad that would weave the more important magic at the gathering.

The crowd did not know what the ladies had planned, but from the clenched jaws and unholy light in their eyes, it wasn't going to be pretty. To see those four women working together raised the hair on the back of more than a few Auror's necks. Cornelius had no such compunction; he promptly wet himself and then had to go change…

Cedalia laughed outright when she popped into a small picture frame at the front of the Great Hall and watched her Great-great-grand-nieces handle the crowd. Not only would she see the family Black's honor restored, she would have vengeance on Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore.

Headmaster Marchbanks had not done a bad job either. He had set Dumbledore up perfectly with his questions about the rites atStonehenge. People tended to forget that some of the headmasters from bygone days were just as wily and wise as the current one- maybe even more so since they had time to build on their wisdom. More than one of the previous Headmaster/mistresses had been from Slytherin House. Ethan Marchbanks had been a Slytherin in life…

Yes, her husband had been a lovely man. A bit like that grandson of theirs that had fallen through the veil. And come to think of it, now that Cedalia was on that subject of thought, it wouldn't hurt to retrieve him from there one of these days.

She went back to watching the girls work. She did manage to mention that Dumbledore was on his way down to talk to everyone and they might want to wrap up a few odds and ends before he got there. That man did not need to know every detail. If he knew everything, he certainly wouldn't set foot on that train. And it was terribly important that he do so…


End file.
